10 Biggest Controversies in Cricket History

Strap on your pads and get ready to face some nasty deliveries.

By Daniel Mumby /

In light of the current saga surrounding the future of Kevin Pietersen, and the ongoing fallout from Tony Greig€™s Spirit of Cricket lecture (interpreted by some as an exercise in India-bashing), it seems a good time to look back on some of cricket€™s most controversial moments. In this age of 24-hour rolling news and sensationalistic journalism, it can seem like an earth-shattering imbroglio every time a cricketer picks his nose. But which moments still touch a nerve with players and fans alike? One caveat before we start. By €˜controversy€™ we mean an event which caused a considerable divide in opinion, rather than something which simply got headlines. For that reason we€™re not including incidents like Allan Donald€™s epic duel with Michael Atherton in 1998; though that prompted many column inches, events like this are generally held as having a positive impact on the game, and are remembered as fondly as a Don Bradman century. These are the moments which truly ruffled feathers on both sides and continue in some way to represent a black mark on the sport€™s history. So strap on your pads and get ready to face some nasty deliveries. But, because cricketers are gentlemen (at least in theory), we€™ll start off with a gentle loosener€